And today, when we’re rightly horrified each time a hostage is decapitated in prime time, never forget Charlemange, the ”Holy” Roman Emperor, decapitated 4000 Saxons in a single day.

To demonstrate to the remaining Saxons that Catholicism was the tribe for them . (Note : the remaining Saxons did get , and act upon, the message.)

Bottom Line : Crazy people who want to kill you, regardless of their motivation, have always been, and will always be, with us.

The Principal take away from the horrific Paris attacks is that civil liberties are the first casualities in a crisis. (Americans : can you say : ”Patriot Act ?”)

Example : Demonstrations (they’re called ”manifestations” here) against the current International Climate conference in France have been forbidden.

Yes, ”agitators/terrorists” could inflitrate the demonstration. But then, that’s a reality with any demonstration is it not ?

Other than throttling freedom of expression, (ie -”Liberty ”) is not the unspoken sub text here that given the massive security deployment at the conference, the Forces of law lack the confidence they could control an unruly crowd ?

The Environmentalists reponse to the Governments action was to place their shoes, in their place, in the Place du Republic. In effect, creating ”place holders for freedom of expression.”

Take Away : Your liberty is conditional. You have it on the conditions that your government feels it warrants. They can, and, will, take it away whenever it suits them.

By nuking your demonstration. Or the less visible, but more insidous ”security measures ”

while it’s no suprise to most of us that religion has been responsible for most of the bloodshed in history (and history is still being written, of course) your fact regarding charlemange was particularly chilling. and telling.